When Teasing Doesn't Work
by Alyson Metallium
Summary: Manga Based When Yuya suffers from nightmares brought on by Shinrei's attack, Kyo must find an alternate way to ease those memories when his usual insults fail to help. Complete
1. Default Chapter

**Quick Notes: **This fic takes place roughly during manga volume 12, sometime before the group splits up. To give those unfamilar with this particular volume since it's untranslated (and won't be translated until NEXT YEAR! sob) here's a really quick run down. Shinrei shows up, everyone fights, Yuya winds up getting attacked in a VERY interesting way. And that's pretty much all I can say without giving away spoilers or plot points. Not to mention the fact that I can't read the manga, but I can look at the pretty pictures and kind of get an idea what's going on. ;; Oh, and I'm a raging KyoxYuya fan, and I've been _thrilled_ to find other fans, as well. Which was a very _duh_ statement to make, really. I blame it on it being late. And if ANYONE could please shed some light on the subject of Sakuya and her relationship with Kyo and Kyoshiro in the manga, I would worship the ground you walked on if you emailed me about it. pleads On with the story!!!!!   
  
When Teasing Doesn't Work  
  
Yuya sat up on her futon, her blanket clutched to her chest as a harsh cry died, unvoiced, upon her lips. Her steady panting was the only sound that broke the silence of her room, and she dragged an unsteady hand through her sweat soaked hair. This was the third night she had awakened from nightmares spawned by Shinrei's attack.  
  
She wrapped her arms around herself as her body began to shiver uncontrollably. If she concentrated hard enough, she thought she could feel Shinrei's water dragon shifting around her heart. She bit her lip, trying to control her shudders, but that only reminded her of just how Shinrei had managed to get his specialized attack inside her body.  
  
She could still feel the steely strength of his arm wrapped around her waist as he hauled her against his body so fast she had not had time to react. Her wits had scattered like sakura petals in a high wind as his icy lips closed over her own. If only she had reacted faster, she might not have found herself in this situation at all, but for those few, critical seconds she had been so shocked by the feel of Shinrei's tongue forcing its way past her lips and teeth that he had been able to send his dragon attack down her throat easily.  
  
With a frustrated grunt, Yuya tossed off her blanket and got to her feet. She needed a drink of water, her mouth felt like someone had stuffed his or her kimono into it, and she knew she wouldn't be able to return to sleep anytime soon.  
  
She carefully made her way out of the Muramasa home, trying hard to not disturb the sleeping inhabitants as she moved as silently as possible towards the courtyard door. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out into the gentle night air, and the full moon illuminated the landscape enough that she was able to find the well without any effort.   
  
As she took a drink from the dipper full of water she had retrieved from the well, she reflected a bit on the now scattered group. It had been two days since Benitora, Sasuke, and Okuni had split off from the group in an effort to find more information on the Mibu Clan as well as do some training on their own, leaving her, Bontenmaru and Kyo with Muramasa, who intended to take Kyo up the mountain in order to teach him the final Mumiyo Jinpu Ryu techniques.   
  
Yuya tilted her head back and let a few remaining drops of water splash onto her face as she gazed up at the stars. She would be lying to herself if she didn't acknowledge that she was worried, both for Kyo and for herself. She hated feeling like her time was limited, but she couldn't hide from the fact that it actually was unless Kyo defeated Shinrei in their next battle. And her worry for Kyo was brought on by the knowledge that he was going to be doing some intensive training with Muramasa, and she didn't know how that was going to affect him due to the ten minute time limit his borrowed body imprisoned him with. She had once seen what happened when Kubira pushed him past the time limit, and she didn't want to think about something similar happening during training. She just had to trust in Muramasa, and that was the end of it.  
  
The sudden sensation that she was being watched caused her to suck in her breath and reach for her three-barreled pistol even as the fine hairs on the back of her neck rose to alertness. A split second later, she relaxed as she recognized the aura of the person who was watching her, and she turned with a scowl on her face and her pistol in hand to face the figure of Onime no Kyo as he moved away from the shadows towards her.  
  
"Damnit, Kyo!" she cried as she returned her pistol to its place inside her yukata. "Don't sneak up on me like that, I could have shot you!"  
  
The killer of a thousand men snorted his opinion of that statement, the moonlight giving his blood red eyes an almost unearthly gleam to them as he stepped fully out of the shadows and smirked at the bounty huntress.  
  
"If I'd been so inclined, you would have been dead before you would have gotten the first shot off," he said, his widening smirk causing a deep dimple to slash across his left cheek. "You were so busy day dreaming you wouldn't have noticed I was here until it was too late."  
  
"I noticed you were there just fine!" Yuya retorted, folding her arms across her chest and glaring.  
  
"Only after several critical minutes had gone by. You need to work on your awareness, girl," Kyo answered, reaching her side and taking the dipper from her hand. She fumed silently as he filled it with water from the well bucket she had pulled up earlier, and drank deeply.  
  
"What are you _doing _out here, anyway?" she demanded when he was finished, irritation at being interrupted during her silent contemplation evident in her voice, though she didn't really expect an answer.  
  
Which was why she startled a little when he asked, "You really expect us to get any sleep when you're up stomping around the house at midnight?"  
  
Kyo watched Yuya from the corner of his eye, fully expecting her brilliant temper to light up like a torch. What he got instead was a quick blush followed by her turning away and mumbling a quick, "Sorry." She moved off, but instead of heading back towards the house she walked out into the garden, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he watched her every move, confusion briefly chasing itself across his features. Barely acknowledged curiosity had him following her as she sat down on a stone bench that had been placed near a bank of sweet smelling flowers. Without invitation, he sat down next to her, making sure to prop his sword against the bench so it was within easy reaching distance should someone try to attack them by surprise.  
  
Silence, fraught with tension and uncertainty on Yuya's part, and calm acceptance for Kyo, settled over the pair. Yuya fidgeted a bit, pleating folds into the material of her sleeping yukata, while occasionally stealing glances at Kyo from under her eyelashes. Kyo watched her from the corner of his eye, mentally counting the seconds that passed before she broke and began to babble. He hoped that she would be so flustered that she would let slip the reason she was having trouble sleeping. This was the third night he'd been awakened from sleep by her thrashing, but this was the first night that she'd woken up and actually left her room. He had heard the stealthy slide of her door as it opened and shut and the soft padding of her feet as she made her way down the hall.  
  
He would never admit to anyone, much less to himself, that he was concerned for her, so he chalked up the urge to follow her to mere curiosity and nothing more. Years of honed instincts and patience from countless battles had kept him from approaching her when he saw her standing next to the well with her face tipped towards the stars. He had been slightly surprised when she had sensed his presence, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. She was a highly skilled bounty hunter, and even though her fighting instincts weren't anywhere near his own level, she was still aware of her surroundings enough to know when she was being watched.  
  
And Yuya could feel him watching her now, even though she couldn't actually catch him looking directly at her. She fidgeted some more, wondering why her heartbeat had started to speed up, when she finally blurted, "I keep having nightmares about . . .," here she paused and touched her chest lightly, indicating without words what her nightmares had been about.  
  
She didn't know why, but she suddenly found herself talking, pouring out her fear and uncertainty that Shinrei's attack had instilled in her. Maybe it was the moonlight, or maybe it was because it was Kyo, but the dam had burst and she couldn't rein in her words any longer. She did manage to keep from him the fact that she wasn't worried that he would be unable to defeat Shinrei, but that she was worried that Shinrei just might take it into his head to fully release the curse and kill her long before they ever reached him within Mibu Castle.  
  
She eventually ran out of steam and sat still for a few moments, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Kyo had remained silent through out her tirade, his body relaxed while she had ranted. For a few moments, silence ruled the small courtyard.  
  
"It's not that I don't believe that you'll kick Shinrei's ass," she said hastily when the silence continued to stretch out and she feared that Kyo had interpreted her words as meaning just that. "It's just that I keep dreaming that he'll come back and . . . again he'll . . ," she stopped, unable to finish her thought, but her actions told Kyo more than her words did. She reached up with her right hand and lightly brushed her fingertips across her lips, flinching away as she did so. Her hand fell to her lap and the brief quiet was broken by Kyo's deep rumble.  
  
"It's no wonder you're so underdeveloped, you think too much."  
  
Yuya's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she snapped, "Well, excuse me for not having an empty brain like you!"  
  
Kyo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Yuya's face was a study of storm clouds as she glared straight ahead into the darkness. Kyo knew that the best way to distract her from her thoughts was to get her angry, but she hadn't threatened to shoot, maim, or turn him in, which meant he hadn't succeeded in getting her mind off her nightmares. As he pondered this, an idea began to develop in the back of his mind, and at first he ignored it. But it refused to be ignored, and when he allowed it to take form, he quickly recognized its appeal. If taunting her, and subsequently pissing her off, didn't work, then perhaps replacing her memory with another memory would work to take her mind off what had happened.  
  
He turned and faced Yuya, waiting patiently until she had turned to glare at him, her green eyes snapping slightly in anger. He carefully and deliberately laid his sword fully on the ground, all the while never taking his eyes from her face.  
  
"What?" she snapped, still glaring as Kyo continued to simply watch her.  
  
He didn't answer. Instead, he reached out his right hand and gently ran his fingers down her cheek in a caress so soft she barely felt the calluses from all his years of wielding a sword. Yuya blinked, and Kyo watched as the anger in her eyes slowly drained away to be replaced by confusion. He caressed her face again, this time using his whole hand in a sensuous slide down the side of her face that ended when he cupped her jaw. He took a moment to enjoy how her eye color deepened to a darker green as her confusion rose, before he slid his hand along her jaw until he had captured her chin in a gentle grip.  
  
Her eyes widened in recognition when she felt his left hand slide around her back as he pulled her to him. This was the exact same position Shinrei had used when he had forced his attack upon her. She stiffened as the memory over took her, and she readied herself to fight back this time.  
  
Kyo felt her resistance, saw it in her eyes and understood where it was coming from. Before she could begin to fight, he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips against hers. She froze, blinking as the fear was once again replaced by confusion. Kyo watched the change, not taking his eyes off hers as he brushed her lips again, and he had to fight to keep from taking the kiss deeper. He savored the feel of her soft lips as he continued to brush his lips against them, his borrowed body hardening as he continued to lightly tease her.  
  
Yuya's mind whirled in confusion, memory receding to be replaced by shock. Kyo was kissing her. That thought was the only one that made any real sense in the kaleidoscope of her mind. She stared at him, questions in her eyes, when he brought his head down again and settled his lips firmly on hers.  
  
All questions fled Yuya's mind as her focus shifted to the feel of Kyo's lips upon hers. Where Shinrei's had been cold, hard and forceful, Kyo's were warm, firm and gentle. She felt her muscles go lax as her eyes drifted shut, and she leaned into the kiss slightly. She jumped and stiffened when she felt Kyo's tongue brush against the seam of her lips, once, twice, a third time. Heat began to pool in her abdomen as the hairs on her arms began to stand up when she realized he was asking permission to taste her.  
  
She hesitantly opened her mouth, and felt a spurt of power as Kyo's tongue surged inside and he groaned. Imagine, the mighty Onime no Kyo sounding as if the mere taste of her was enough to send him to his knees. He explored the interior of her mouth, and then began to rub his tongue sensuously against hers. Yuya melted as her blood turned into liquid fire.  
  
Kyo growled when he felt Yuya give herself over to him, and his hand flexed on her chin as a hunger he had kept ruthlessly in check broke free of its chains. His hand slid up her jaw until his fingers tangled in the hair she had left loose while she slept. He slanted his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss further, sweeping Yuya up into a whirlpool of desire.  
  
Wanting to get closer to her, he tightened his hold on her waist and dragged her across the bench until she was straddling his lap, his arm crushing her to him. Her breasts flattened against his chest as he slanted his mouth over hers again and again, her tongue mimicking his in such a way that they began to dance in a ritual as old as the Sakura trees.  
  
Yuya's breathing had sped up, and she gasped as Kyo pulled his mouth free of hers. She tilted her head back as he ran his lips across her jaw and down her throat. His hand fisted slightly in her hair, then released it and began to travel down the back of her head to her neck. She felt him play with the edge of her kimono, and then his warm fingers slipped inside and caressed the bare skin of her shoulder.  
  
Yuya felt like she was drowning in a sea of new sensations as Kyo's fingertips left a trail of prickly fire on her skin. Her hands reached up and fisted in the material of his kimono. She wanted to be closer; she wanted to feel his skin under her fingertips. She leaned further into his body . . . and her world went black.  
  
With a ragged sigh, Kyo removed his fingers from the pressure point located in Yuya's shoulder, and moved her limp body so he could gather up his sword and transfer her into his arms. He growled suddenly as Kyoshiro's unwelcome mental voice continued to yell in his inner ear, demanding that he stop "seducing Yuya-san" until he had regained his original body.  
  
"Don't worry, bastard," Kyo finally snarled, sending Kyoshiro scurrying back to the mental room he had originally holed himself into when Kyo had taken over his body completely. "I have no intention of ever letting any part of your body claim her fully."  
  
Kyoshiro subsided with a muttered, "Don't you dare hurt her," prompting Kyo to give a snort of disgust.  
  
Cradling Yuya in his arms, Kyo made his way through Muramasa's home until he reached Yuya's bedroom. Once inside, he gently placed her sleeping form on her futon. He then covered her with a blanket before he stood and gazed down at her face. Not for the first time he cursed Kyoshiro for trapping him within his body. He wanted nothing more than to claim what she had been on the verge of offering him only moments before.  
  
He abruptly turned on his heel and exited Yuya's room, knowing that she would most likely attribute tonight's little liaison as a dream, which, as much as it galled him to admit, was just what he wanted. It would serve a double purpose. One, it would get her mind off Shinrei and hopefully banish the worst of the dreams she'd been having. Two, she would start to dream of him, which would help pave the way to the time when he would once again be in possession of his original body and able to fully claim her as his.  



	2. Chapter Two

**A/N 1:** A HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who reviewed. This fic was originally meant to be a one chapter one-shot, but with everyone being so encouraging, it got my brain thinking again and I wondered, "Hmm, maybe I should do a 'morning after' type chapter." I dunno if I succeeded or not, but I hope ya'll enjoy.  
  
**Chapter Two**  
  
Yuya looked up from her three barreled pistol at the sound of a distant door sliding open and closed. Her brow furrowed with worry when she wondered what Kyo was doing up and about. It had only been several hours since he had returned carrying an unconscious Muramasa, only to then be attacked by Hotaru. Kyo had defeated the fire user easily, but then that tall, lanky guy with the strange glasses had showed up and taken Hotaru away, but not before blasting everyone with some strange power that had caused everyone but Kyo to be forced to the ground. (a)  
  
Yuya sighed as she continued to meticulously clean her pistol, the repetitive task serving as a balm to nerves that were still jumpy from Kyo's sudden reappearance in her life. _Sudden reappearance, hah_, she snorted to herself. _That sounds like I wasn't expecting him to come back at all, which couldn't be any further from the truth_. She had known that Muramasa's training was dangerous, the man himself had said that Kyo might not even survive, but nothing could shake her faith that Onime no Kyo would over come all obstacles to obtain what he wanted.  
  
_And what exactly did he want?_ Yuya found herself thinking. Sure, Kyo often said that he wanted to kill Kyoshiro and claim the title of Strongest, but she couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that. Of course, having Muramasa give her a rather _knowing _grin before he and Kyo set off for their training session only reinforced that feeling. She had been unable to ask him about it, though, because the kind hearted blond man had been in a much weaker condition than Kyo when they returned, and had taken to his futon instantly. Yuya paused in her meticulous motions, her brow furrowing in thought. Muramasa had assured her that he was just tired from the training, but she sensed a deeper undercurrent to his words, and she couldn't help but worry.  
  
Her mind was quickly brought back to her current task by an odd swishing sound. When she looked down at the small pile of bullets that were waiting to be assembled, she found that Muramasa's cat was, once again, playing with several of the small round iron balls she had gathered close to her. Her left eyebrow began to twitch as several veins popped out on her forehead.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL?!"  
  
Her roar of rage had been accompanied by the cat's horrified screech as she had reached out and tried to grasp the cat around its neck. She received several scratches for her efforts, and before she could get to her feet the cat had shot through the door and she could hear its claws as it ran down the hallway.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" she muttered as she gained her feet and ran out of her room. She took a quick second to locate the cat further down the hall. The evil beast had slowed down to a walk, obviously not expecting the blond bounty huntress to come after it. Therefore, its screech of surprise was well founded when it casually glanced over its shoulder to see said bounty huntress bearing down on it at full speed with an expression on her face that said she fully intended to kill her prey. Not wasting any time, the cat dug its claws into the smooth wood of the hallway, and shot off again, quickly rounding the corner and vanishing from sight.  
  
"COME BACK HERE!" Yuya yelled, grabbing the edge of the corner to keep from running into the wall as she propelled herself around and down the hallway after the fleeing cat.  
  
"Yuya-chan?" Bontenmaru asked as he came out of a room, obviously attracted by her screams of rage. He glanced in the direction her footfalls were coming from, and promptly received a face full of fur as Muramasa's cat leapt onto him, and then used him as a spring board to launch itself further down the hallway away from the enraged girl. He then found himself on the receiving end of an elbow to the stomach as Yuya shoved him out of her way. It wasn't enough to really hurt him, but it was enough to cause him to let his breath out with a slight _whoosh_. Blinking, he turned a shot a bemused look at the back of the angry bounty huntress. "Huh."  
  
Yuya made a quick mental note to apologize to Bon the moment she caught her prey, but until then, she wasn't about to let her target out of her sight. The last time Muramasa's cat had played with the bullets to her gun, she had lost three of them to parts unknown in the home. The cat was going to pay for that dearly.  
  
She was so focused on her furry quarry that she didn't notice the tall, rather imposing figure that deliberately stepped into her path. She collided with the unexpected obstacle at full speed, and promptly lost her balance when it barely moved as she bounced off it. Staggering, Yuya got tangled in her own feet, and would have fallen over backwards if strong hands hadn't reached out and grasped her shoulders to steady her. She blinked, confused and not sure of what exactly happened until she felt a single, strong hand invade the depths of her kimono and rub against her right breast.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL?! KYO!" she yelled, jerking away from the crimson eyed man who eyed her with his usual smug amusement. She flushed, but she couldn't be sure if it was from anger, embarrassment, or the sudden strange awareness that had invaded her body the moment his fingers had touched her bare skin.  
  
That single brief contact had brought all the strange dreams she had been having lately back to the forefront of her mind. Most of them had been vague, but they all had centered around Kyo, and they all had caused her to wake up with a strange ache in her lower belly that she didn't completely understand. The strangest thing of all, to her, was that while most of the dreams had been vague and shadowy, the first dream had been extremely vivid and detailed. There were times when she wasn't completely convinced that it actually had been a dream, but the thought of Onime no Kyo kissing her in such a way made no sense when she examined the dream logically. She wasn't even sure why she had started to dream of him in the first place, though she wasn't about to wish for the nightmares of Shinrei's attack to start up again on a regular basis. She was still plagued by the occasional nightmare, such as the one that had driven her out of the house once again, but unlike her Kyo centered dream it had been Bontenmaru who had approached her as she had stood by the old well.  
  
She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and once again Kyo's hand plunged into her upper kimono as his other hand reached beneath the hem of the lower portion. Yuya let loose with a stream of swear words as she twisted away from him yet again and whirled to face him, several veins pulsing on her forehead as he stood there and gave her a very wicked grin. A quick search served to remind her that she had left her pistol in the room she had been using during her stay with Muramasa. So she settled for giving Kyo a look she hoped would wither him on the spot (but failed due to her blushing all the way to her hairline) as she stalked around him, returning to her search for Muramasa's cat.  
  
Kyo smiled to himself when he heard her mutter, "Damn cat doesn't know how much a bullet costs" as she stalked around him and down the hallway. He wouldn't say it out loud, but it was good to see her in better spirits than she had been when he and Muramasa had left for the training session. And judging from the way she had turned red after his little, erhm, greeting, she _had _been dreaming about him like he had planned. All he needed to do now was remove all the obstacles were in the way of him reclaiming his original body, and then he could take what he wanted most.  
  
Should he fail . . . Kyo growled and stalked off at that thought. He refused to allow his mind to go down that trail, because the mere thought that Yuya's life would be forfeit if he was unable to defeat Shinrei sent an unfamiliar sensation of icy dread down his spine, which was quickly followed by a surge of rage so strong the very air around him seemed to turn as red as his eyes. With an effort, he brought himself back under control when he found himself outside of Muramasa's room. He knew the older man would easily sense the true source of his suddenly agitated thoughts, and that knowledge made him scowl. The last thing he needed was to be smirked at in that _knowing _way Muramasa tended to use whenever he sensed that Kyo's thoughts had wandered in the direction of a certain blond bounty huntress.  
  
Composing his features into his usual stoic mask, Kyo slid open the door to Muramasa's room and stepped inside, leaving all thoughts for a single girl behind for the time being. Muramasa was his teacher, and as such all of Kyo's attention needed to be focused on him. Even though he had already completed the training, there were still a few tips and questions that the older man could give, and Kyo fully intended to make use of the time he had before they set out towards the Mibu Castle. As he stepped inside the older man's room, Muramasa gave him that knowing smile, and Kyo found himself grinding his teeth. _The old man really needs another hobby aside from trying to meddle in my life_, Kyo thought as he settled himself on the floor next to his teacher's futon. He could already tell from the way Muramasa was grinning at him that it was going to be another long and frustrating conversation.  
  
Voices filtered in through the walls, giving knowledge that Yuya was no longer chasing the cat and had caught up with Bontenmaru to apologize for nearly running the larger man older. Her soft words acted like an instant balm on Kyo's irritated nerves, and he found himself relaxing slightly for the first time since Shinrei had made his unwelcome appearance. He decided to ignore Muramasa's smirk and let the older man guide the conversation in whatever direction he wished. There wasn't all that much time left before he and the others set out again, and he wanted to make damn sure he was fully prepared for the battles ahead, once again refusing to think about the consequences should he fail.  
  
**A/N 2:** A) This is a reference to an incident that happens in volume 14 of the manga. To put it briefly, the Mibu has a guy who can control gravity. He kind of freaks me out.  
  
I know this chapter probably ended rather suddenly, but this chapter was meant to take place during volume 14, with the original story picking up again after this chapter ended. I'm not sure if this chapter fits into the manga continuity seamlessly, since I can't read any Japanese and I have NO idea what's going on aside from looking at the pictures, so I apologize if it's a tad rough. Thanks for reading, everyone! Huzzah for SDK! And HUZZAH FOR KYOXYUYA!  



End file.
